<Reminiscence (2/2)>
Lucifer was completely at a loss for words—not because he had nothing to say, but because he was utterly stunned, unable to speak.
Satan was fully aware of the current situation and had even accepted it. He had gone so far as to embrace the prophecy of their defeat. Yet, he still intended to proceed? Why? It was something Lucifer simply couldn’t comprehend.
“Could it be… that this is your reasoning?”
“That’s it?”
“You lost, but you don’t want to back down just yet because it feels like a waste, or your pride won’t allow it. So you’re trying to struggle, even if it’s futile.”
“…Heh heh heh heh.”
At that, Satan’s pupils narrowed, and a chilling laugh escaped him. Lucifer fixed him with a cold stare. Of course, he didn’t truly believe that was the case, nor was he ready to fully trust Satan yet.
But still—
“Is that really what you think?”
If there was even the slightest hint of agreement, he would stop Satan at all costs. And if Satan insisted on continuing, Lucifer planned to withdraw alone.
The laughter soon died down, but Satan still wore a smile as he spoke.
“Lucifer, you say some pretty interesting things. Did you really think I’d be that petty?”
“I don’t want vague answers.”
Lucifer stared him down, his voice firm. He wanted only one thing: to understand Satan’s true motive for pressing on. He didn’t want to be dragged along by some reckless impulse born of desperation.
“Heh heh. Well, throwing a tantrum before leaving isn’t the worst idea…”
At that moment, Satan turned and began descending the stairs leisurely. Lucifer, about to speak, closed his half-open mouth. He sensed an unspoken signal: they would talk while walking, not part ways just yet.
A moment later—
“Possibility…”
Satan finally spoke again, just as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
“I just think there’s still a chance.”
“A chance…?”
Lucifer asked cautiously.
“Why do you think so? In what way?”
“Hmm. Have you ever heard the human saying, ‘put yourself in someone else’s shoes’?”
“I have.”
“I thought about it. Assuming your guess is right, what would I do if I were Kim Soo-hyun? Something like this.”
“……”
“Probably, I wouldn’t act like I am now.”
Satan continued slowly as he walked.
“I’d hide my intentions completely and let things unfold as usual, for the most part. Of course, I’d prepare secretly. Then, when the crucial moment came, I’d strike all at once.”
“Hmm…”
“If that had happened, there might really have been no hope. Getting hit by a blow you didn’t see coming hurts a lot. So, Lucifer, do you see the difference between these two situations?”
“That might be true… but I’m not sure. I still don’t quite grasp what you’re trying to say.”
Lucifer’s uncertain tone drew a faint smile from Satan.
“The point is this: it’s late, but we’ve realized it now.”
Lucifer remained silent, listening intently. His mind was still clouded, but Satan’s words continued.
“Now that we’ve realized it, we can make a plan. If we can carry out that plan, we can create an opportunity. It’s not complicated.”
“Easy to say. So, what exactly is this plan?”
“Well… it can’t be summed up in one sentence.”
“…Excuse me?”
“After summoning the Hell Duke, we gave up on the Northern Continent as promised, right? But as I said earlier, the Southern Continent alone isn’t enough.”
“You did say that.”
“Right. Since we’re in a tough spot, we can’t limit ourselves to one scenario. We have to use everything we can—ourselves, the Eastern Continent, the Western Continent, the Southern Continent… all of it.”
“Hmm. I’m not too familiar with the Southeast Continent, but the Western Continent is already under our control. Isn’t its usefulness pretty much exhausted?”
Lucifer asked, tilting his head. Satan shook his head.
“Didn’t I say? If we can use it, we’ll use it all. It might sound desperate, but now’s not the time to be picky.”
Lucifer agreed with that. He only worried about wasting energy on pointless things.
“The important thing is that not a single piece can go wrong. When everything meshes together like clockwork, only then can we barely create it—a single chance that could even overturn the prophecy.”
The more Satan spoke, the less Lucifer’s doubts were resolved; in fact, they only deepened. Yet he dared not interrupt. There was something ominous in Satan’s lowering voice.
“I say all this, but honestly, I still feel it’s not enough. The Eastern Continent is far behind in development, and the Western Continent is already closed off. The Southern Continent is somewhat comparable, but still different. I’m actually a bit curious why the Northern Continent stands so uniquely apart, even though it’s the same race…”
Satan spoke with a hint of regret, then suddenly let out a chuckle.
“That’s when this thought struck me.”
“…?”
“If we can’t fix this situation by normal means… then in the end, we’ll have to take some risks ourselves.”
“Risks?”
Lucifer immediately questioned. He had intended to listen quietly, but he couldn’t let that pass.
Satan’s meaning was simple: the current disadvantage couldn’t be overturned by ordinary methods. They needed a new card capable of flipping the situation. And to get that card…
Lucifer swallowed hard. The veil shrouding Satan’s decision to proceed was beginning to lift, and an inexplicable tension gripped him.
Satan continued.
“The method itself is simple. If we can’t change the prophecy ourselves, then we bring in someone who can overturn even the prophecy. In other words, we borrow power from outside.”
“Outside power?”
“Exactly. Even if it means we have to step forward ourselves.”
“Even if it means we have to step forward ourselves…?”
“Heh heh. There’s no rule that only creatures or the fourteen demon lords have to be the seed, you know. Isn’t that right?”
“!”
At that moment, the footsteps that had been following Satan abruptly stopped. His eyes, which had been narrowed, suddenly widened to the size of lanterns, disbelief written plainly in his gaze.
Though no words came out, Lucifer’s quick mind grasped Satan’s true intent from that last statement.
He glanced upward, drawing a sharp breath. After walking endlessly, they had arrived at Satan’s stronghold. Watching the fading back of a demon disappearing into the distance, Lucifer reached out blankly.
“Sa…!”
“Lucifer. Remember this.”
At that instant, Satan’s heavy voice stopped his steps.
“The summoning of the Hell Duke was not a failure.”
Saying that, Satan slowly turned to face Lucifer.
“…I saw a possibility in that process.”
He gestured forward as if inviting him inside, then vanished without a trace.
“Um…”
Lucifer, lost in thought, was suddenly brought back to reality by a voice.
“We have arrived.”
It seemed they had reached their destination while he was recalling events from months ago. Before Lucifer stood a single entrance shrouded in darkness. From it emanated a dense aura of magic far beyond that of mere lowly demons. Not just one, but five such entrances.
‘They said they were already gathered…’
Lucifer quickened his pace and passed through the entrance.
Inside, as the demons had said, five beings were assembled. One thing was different from before—the atmosphere was distinctly changed.
Lilith, Baal, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Astaroth… The great demons who usually snarled and fought whenever they met were unusually silent today. They all stared blankly into the dark void.
Perhaps sensing his presence, a few of the great demons turned toward the entrance amid a brief stir. Lucifer bowed politely and approached calmly.
“…How is it?”
His voice was low, but the quiet space made it carry faintly to everyone’s ears. Yet no one spoke, seemingly at a loss for words. Only Lilith awkwardly scratched her cheek and stepped aside.
Lucifer took the spot she offered, steadying his breath. His heart pounded fiercely as he neared, but he stood still, quietly gazing into the darkness.
The first thing he saw was six entities tangled in chains, suspended in midair. All six were not mere demons, but true devils.
As a side note, Satan, as the king of all devils, commanded five of the fourteen demon lords. And now, all five were hanging in the air, bound.
Not just one or two, but all five. In truth, Satan had already crossed a point of no return.
Lucifer struggled to steady his pounding heart and began checking them one by one from the left.
Gaph, Sabnock, Amon, Forneus…
Then, as he reached the fifth—Belial—his forehead creased sharply. Though the chains covered their limbs and bodies, there were gaps through which he could see.
Belial’s condition was markedly different from the other four demon lords. While the others retained their pre-seed forms intact, Belial was severely wounded.
The sharp, straight scar etched across the chest and the dozens of scars carved into the abdomen stood out unmistakably. The chain, stained with dried blood, had darkened to a deep, almost blackish red.
“What happened here? From what I heard, Belial was definitely—”
“He must have resisted. Seems he was a human with a force aligned to the ‘good’ side.”
Before the sentence was even finished, someone muttered flatly. Astaroth, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, stared blankly ahead. Lucifer shook his head firmly.
“That’s impossible. Even when we consumed the ancient evil gods…”
“They say that one was asleep. This situation isn’t comparable.”
Astaroth’s voice was weak as he spoke, then suddenly trailed off. He glanced sideways, almost sneakily. His red eyes, usually blazing with fierce anger, were now clouded with an unfathomable bitterness.
“Belial… he’s actually one of the better cases.”
The moment those words sank in, Lucifer’s head jerked slightly. He instinctively turned to look, but flinched before he even realized it.
When he first entered, he’d roughly counted six figures bound by chains. So far, only five had been identified. One remained. And Lucifer knew better than anyone who it was.
Should he look? Or should he not?
A flood of conflicting thoughts swept through him in an instant. His face betrayed a rare, vivid turmoil.
But then, as if realizing he had no choice, he trembled and shifted his gaze to the left.
Slowly. Very slowly…
And then—
Crunch!
Not long after, a grinding sound escaped from his clenched teeth. At the same time, loud cracks echoed from his tightly balled fists. His eyes, which had been trembling uncontrollably, didn’t calm down—instead, they shook even more violently, radiating a fierce, distrustful glare.
Watching quietly from the side, Astaroth took a slow drag from his cigarette, as if he’d expected this reaction.
Because there, hanging—
“…Satan?”
It was a pitiful, ragged figure barely worthy of the name Satan.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
In the previous chapter, I changed “Hell” to “Gehenna, the Grand Duke of Hell.” After rereading, I realized the readers were right. Thank you for pointing that out. (__)
Well, while the cute, lighthearted moments are nice, I think it’s time to focus on moving the story forward. Haha. If I keep dragging out the Northern Continent storyline without progressing, this might never reach its conclusion. It really feels like the moment to push ahead has come. There will be chances to revisit those important events later, so I ask for your understanding for now. :)
The demon arc is planned to wrap up by the middle of the next chapter, and then the story will shift immediately to the Southern Continent. From episode 7 down to 5, the pace will pick up significantly. The protagonist’s perspective will return starting precisely at episode 4.
Of course, by then, many events will have already unfolded.
PS.
Cheongseombaek / It’s the final stage, so please keep up the effort.
Satan: Thank you….